Better Luck Next Time
by Emotion Masen
Summary: Bella has always felt like she had the worst luck. So what happens when she gets locked out of her house in nothing but a bathrobe, one slipper and a bag of garbage with her hot new neighbor Edward watching from his porch with that stupid sexy grin on his face. REPOST!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello my lovelies! I'm back and will be reposting stories slowly!**_

 _ ** _ **This story will be all Bella POV, you know me I'll probably throw an Edward POV in the mix eventually.**_**_

 _ **I don't own twilight...yeah I think that sucks too.**_

 _ **But Alex is mine, he is loosely based off my son, so happy reading!**_

* * *

 ** _Chapter One: My Life_**

You know the phrase, you're born, you pay taxes and then you die? Yeah, some days I've felt like this and today was one of those damn days. I was a well-known photographer; okay maybe I was exaggerating a little.

I was known.

I worked for _Figure_ Magazine in Manhattan, New York. It was a high-class fashion magazine. Meaning, I took pictures of stuck up, toothpick models most of my day. Thankfully, the Editor and Chief of the Magazine loved me more than her models.

Meaning, if the little model bitch called me _miss thang_ one more time while waving her well-done, manicured finger in my face, I was going to toss my three thousand dollar camera right into her fifty thousand dollar plastic face.

"Bella, you can't hit her. Alice really wanted her for the cover," my assistant Angela whispered into my ear. I groaned because while I knew my older sister Alice would have sided with me, I knew she would have been pissed if I lost her this model.

"Tanya, let's try this again okay? Look up as if you've seen something beautiful," I tried directing. She rolled her eyes at me as if I had insulted her or something.

I swear working with my five-year-old son Alex and my six-year-old niece Maria was easier than working with some of these models. Inhaling a deep breath I squatted down so that I could get a better angle. "If you ruin this picture it won't be me who has to find a job after," I yelled to her. She glared at me but instantly changed her pose.

Thankfully, I was able to finish the shoot quickly. Tanya rushed off the set and I handed my camera to Angela.

"Why do I do this again?" I asked no one in particular.

"Because you need the money," Angela said knowing damn well that wasn't the case at all. I could live off of the child support checks I received from Alex's father. Sam played for the NFL— the Seattle Seahawks to be exact.

He always said he hated living so far away from Alex, but he always loved football first. Don't get me wrong, he loved our son, but he was honestly more like a long-distance uncle rather than a father to Alex.

I guess I couldn't be too pissed off about it. Neither of us expected Alex, hell, we weren't even dating when I got pregnant. See Sam's brother is my best friend Jacob. Jacob and I have been best friends since we were playing in the sandbox. Anyway, Sam had come home after the season was over. Jake was so happy to have his brother home that we gave him a party. Well, one thing led to another and a month later I was in the bathroom with Alice, pissing on a stick. Yes, Alex was an _oops_ baby. My mother tried yelling at me for being careless, but what am I supposed to do when not only the condom busts, but the birth control pills I had were defective? Let me just say it was the first and only time I got that drunk.

"Bella! Have you seen the cover of _Atmosphere_!" Alice yelled coming onto the set. Her heels clicking loud against the marble floor.

"No, I've been working all morning," I said with a _duh_ look on my face. She rolled her eyes while tossing the magazine at me. Turning the magazine in my hand, I smiled when I saw the picture on the front.

It was mine.

"They used my picture," I said in excitement as I looked up at Alice and everyone else in the room.

"Yes! I told you, you could make a magazine cover that wasn't my magazine," she said with a huge smile on her face. I opened the magazine and groaned when I saw that they spelled my name wrong.

How in the world do you spell _Isabella Swan_ wrong you ask, easy they spelled it Izzbella Swain.

"Alice, they spelled my name wrong," I told her. She snatched the magazine from my hand and looked at it.

"Those stupid shits! How the hell do you spell Isabella Swan wrong!" she yelled pulling out her cell phone.

"Alice, what are you doing?" I asked her.

"Fixing this right now, that's what," she said already placing the phone against her ear. Angela and I stood there as we listened to Alice tear into the Editor of _Atmosphere_ magazine.

By the time she finished I received a full apology.

"They'll not only be fixing their mistake in the next issue, but they will also be using another one of your pictures for the cover," she told as she placed her phone back in her purse.

"Alice, I swear you missed your calling as my agent," I teased. She laughed shaking her head at me.

"Fashion was always my calling. Now come on, we have to meet Mom for lunch, and if we're late we'll have to listen to her say…

"…late birdies don't eat," we both said at the same time and then started laughing. I asked Angela to finish cleaning up the set for me and then grabbed my purse and followed Alice.

Thankfully, we arrived at the restaurant before our mother. We sat down and ordered ourselves a drink.

"Do you know why she wanted to meet with us for lunch?" I asked Alice knowing she knew. Alice shrugged her shoulders as she quickly drank from her glass. I narrowed my eyes at her. I knew she was lying, but I also knew I wasn't going to get it out of her if it was a secret.

"There are my beautiful daughters," I heard my mother say. We turned to her voice and watched her walk toward our table. She placed a kiss on both our cheeks and then sat down.

"You look nice today, Mom, hot date?" Alice teased with a smile.

"Please, your father couldn't leave the firehouse for a hot date," she replied wiggling her eyebrows. Alice groaned and I laughed.

"You walked right into that," I told her.

"How are my grandbabies?" my mother asked looking between us.

"The same way they were yesterday when you saw them at dinner," I said sitting back in my chair. "What is this lunch really about, Mom? And don't give me that I wanted to have lunch with my daughters' crap," I said and she looked at me as if I lost my mind. "I meant mess," I corrected.

My mother sat up straight in her chair and I knew I was about to get a Renee Swan speech. They were never fun and I promised you no one ever wanted to be on the wrong side of one.

"Bella, you need a husband," she said if it was life or death. Then again to my mother it was life or death.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do. You're lonely," she continued. I groaned.

"Am I? Well, thank you for letting me know that, because I had no idea how I was feeling. Apparently, my emotions are in your body," I snapped causing Alice to laugh.

"There is no need to be rude, Bella."

"Mom, you just told me I need a husband and that I'm lonely. I'm sorry if I don't find those to be compliments," I whisper yelled.

"Your father and I worry about you and Alex, that's all. You need a man in your life and he needs a father," she continued, and now we were really getting to the root of this conversation.

"Alex has a father, his name is Sam Black."

"Sam is all right when he's around, but being in and out of Alex's life the way he is just isn't healthy on a young boy like Alex, and don't go saying you have Jacob around."

"But I do have Jacob around…"

"He's his _uncle_ , not his _father_ ," she said with a roll of her eyes as if I forgot.

"I know that, because Alex has a father. His name is Sam," I said again in case she forgot.

"I don't like your tone, Isabella Swan," she spat. Obviously, she felt I did something wrong because she called me Isabella.

"Well, I don't like being told that I'm a lonely old cat lady," I spat back causing Alice to laugh again. My mom tried not to laugh but failed.

"I didn't say you were an old cat lady; you don't even have cats," she replied causing me to laugh even though I was still a little irritated. I swore we had this argument once a month.

"I'm sorry for getting nasty," I told her. She patted my hand rubbing her thumb over the back of it.

"It's fine, you're fiery like me. You just need a good fireman to put your fire out every once in a while like me," she said with a wink.

"Oh, eww Mom! Really," I said pulling my hand away from her. She laughed shrugging her shoulders. We ordered our lunch and left the argument to come up again next month. After lunch, I went to complete my last shoot for the day and then left work for the day. I had to pick Alex up from school in an hour, and Westchester was about forty minutes from Manhattan, and that was on a good day.

I may have broken the speed limit a little, but I made it just in time to catch Alex running out of school with his classmates. His teacher always took the kids to the playground while each of them waited to be picked up.

"Mommy!" he yelled running toward me as I entered the yard. I kneel down so that I could pick him up.

"Hey, cutie. How was school?" I asked kissing his cheek.

"Mom, not at school," he groaned. I laughed putting him down. I don't know when he started becoming embarrassed when I kissed him but I didn't like it.

"How was school?"

"Great! I got to erase the board today and be the paper collector," he said with excitement. I was going to assume that was a good thing.

"Ms. Swan," his teacher Ms. Stanley yelled as she walked over to me.

"Hi, Ms. Stanley, how are you today?" I asked pulling Alex to my side.

"Wonderful as always, I'm getting married next year," she practically yelled showing me her engagement ring.

"That's a beautiful ring, he's a lucky man," I said with a forced smile.

"I'm the lucky one. Anyway, I actually wanted to ask if you could be our photographer for the wedding. I know you sometimes do weddings because I remember you doing Lauren's. It would really mean a lot to me if you could do it," she said with a huge smile on her face.

"Um, take my card and give my assistant a call. Let her know when the wedding is and she'll let you know if I'm able to fit you into my schedule," I said pulling my business card out of my purse and handing it to her.

"Thank you," she said walking away. "I'll see you tomorrow, Alex," she said rubbing the top of his head. He groaned moving his head from under her hand. I laughed because if she kept that up she was going to get yelled at by a five-year-old. Alex hated when people rubbed the top of his head.

He swore they were going to mess up his haircut.

"Ready to go, bud?" I asked looking down into this little face. It was scary how much he looked like Sam.

"Yeah," he said taking my hand. We walked to my car while he told me about the rest of his day and how he thought some of the kids were big doo-doo heads because they wouldn't listen when Ms. Stanley told them to quiet down.

Opening the car door I helped him up into the car and then buckled him into his booster seat. I climbed into the driver seat and started the car.

"Mommy, could we go see Bubba at the firehouse. He said he would let me see the new truck they got," he told me as if I wasn't sitting there yesterday when my father told him this.

Alex insisted on calling my father Bubba after he heard a few of my father's friends from the firehouse call him that. Charlie loved the idea of course because he wasn't big on being called grandpa.

"Sure, but no pressing any buttons this time okay?" I told him. He gave me his most adorable grin as he nodded. As I drove, my cell phone started to ring. I wasn't sure where it was, but I could tell by the ringtone it was my work phone.

Keeping my eyes on the road, I dug around into my purse hoping to get a hold of it before the person hung up. I pulled it out just as I hear a police siren. I groan pulling the car over to the side of the road.

"Mommy, did we do something wrong?" Alex asked looking worried.

"No, baby, the officer just wants to make sure we're safe," I sort of lied. That I knew of, I hadn't done anything wrong, but I knew he wasn't coming to check if were safe. I rolled my window down as the cop came up to the car.

"License, insurance and registration," he said glaring down at me. I groaned and leaned over to pull my license and registration out of my wallet. "Can I ask why am I being pulled over?" I asked handing the requested things to him.

"You can ask…" he replied back not telling me why I was being pulled over. He walked back to his car and I looked back at Alex.

"You okay back there?" I asked him.

"Yes," he said still looking worried. The cop came back to my window pulling his sunglasses off of his face.

"Are you aware that you have two unpaid parking tickets?" he asked me.

"What? No, I paid those," I said shaking my head.

"Computer doesn't lie," he said back as if that was true.

"I paid them, I have the receipts."

"Can I see them?"

"Well, I don't have them on me," I snapped back. He nodded as he looked back at my license.

"Says here you're twenty-eight," he said handing me my license, insurance and registration cards back. I wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"Yes."

"You don't look twenty-eight."

"Well I am," I replied trying to keep my temper.

He looked into the car and as if he just noticed Alex, he asks, "That your kid?"

"Yes."

"Husband waiting for you at home?" he continued. I looked at him to see if he was fucking serious.

"How is that any of your business?" I asked, forgetting that he was a cop. He looked pissed by my question.

"I'm going to give you a ticket for speeding; you make sure you pay this one and the other two or next time your car will be impounded," he said writing the ticket.

"I already paid those other tickets, and I wasn't speeding…"

"Five miles over the limit, ma'am. I would call that speeding," he replied handing me the ticket. I growled snatching it from him and stuffing it in my bag. "You have a nice day ma'am and follow the speed limit," he said before walking back to his car. I waited until he got in his car and pulled off.

"Stupid sonofabitch! Ugh!" I screamed causing Alex to start giggling from the backseat.

"You owe me two dollars Mommy, you said the s-word and the b-word," he reminded me. In our house using stupid was just as bad as using an actual curse word. I dug into my bag and pulled out two dollars giving them to Alex.

"I'm sorry," I told him. He nodded as he looked at his two dollars.

"That cop was a big douche anyway," he told me. I laughed shaking my head.

"Where did you learn the word douche?"

"Uncle Jake, he told me to use that instead of the s-word," he answered. I could definitely hear Jake telling him something like that. I pulled back onto the road for the firehouse. I pulled up outside the firehouse just as I saw the truck returning.

I climbed out of the car just as the guys started to get off the truck. I waved at them as I walked around to the passenger side to let Alex out of the car. He rushed toward the firehouse just as his feet hit the ground.

"Stop running!" I yelled walking behind him. He ran into the arms of one of the female fire fighters. Rosalie Hale. Alex was completely in love with her.

"Hey Rose," I greeted walking into the firehouse.

"Hey Bella, what you are feeding him, grow beans? He's grown over twenty feet since I saw him last," she joked tickling Alex's stomach. I shook my head watching her with him. The entire firehouse was like a second family.

My father had been a fireman my entire life so, I knew everyone in Firehouse 62. The firemen were Seth, Aro, Liam, Marcus, Bree, James, Riley, Felix and Jacob. The paramedics were Jane, Alec, Maggie and Peter.

"How's my baby girl?" my father said coming into the garage where we still stood. Charlie was the chief here now. He was tough but to me and Alice, he was just our father. The man who used to play dress-up and tea party with us.

"I could be better," I said giving him a hug.

"The cops stopped us on our way here, Bubba," Alex told him. I groaned knowing my father was going to assume I was speeding. I'll admit I had a habit of doing so when Alex wasn't in the car, but never while he was in the car.

"I wasn't speeding, Dad."

"What's the ticket for?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Speeding, but I wasn't speeding. You know I wouldn't do that especially with Alex in the car with me," I defended. He nodded turning his attention to Alex.

"Ready to see the new truck?" he asked him.

"Oh yeah!" Alex yelled taking my father's hand. I watched them both go further into the firehouse. Rose stood up next to me nudging my shoulder.

"He worries about you," she told me. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, my mom told me that, too. Apparently, I'm lonely and I need a husband," I told her. She started laughing.

"Why didn't you say so, Bella," I heard James say from behind me. I turned around to see him lowering down onto one knee in front of me. "Will you marry me, Bella Swan?" he asked like the idiot he was.

"Get your stupid ass up, Jimmy," Jacob said coming up behind him and slapping the back of his head.

"I'm waiting for Bella to answer me."

"You're a dumb ass. Get up. I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on the planet," I laughed pulling him up off his knee before Alex or my father saw him.

"You hurt a man's ego, Bella," he told me with a grin on his face. I shook my head as I laughed at him. He pulled me into a hug. "I'm just fucking around with you, Bells. I'm scared shitless of your father, so no marriage would ever work between us," he continued making everyone laugh.

I followed them to the cafeteria while I waited for my dad to finish giving Alex the tour of the new truck.

"I bet you guys are happy about the new truck," I said looking at all of them.

"We were until we found out why it was really here," Rose said kicking her feet up on the table. She acted just like the guys.

"Why is it here?" I asked looking at all of them.

"Another firehouse was shut down. We're getting three of their guys in two weeks," Jacob answered pulling out a chair and turning around for him to sit in.

"Another firehouse?" I asked in shock.

"Yup, budget cuts," James said with shake of his head. I shook my head worried that Firehouse 62 could be next.

"I mean, how great could these guys be if their firehouse was shut down," James continued.

"The best of the best," my father said coming into the room and scaring everyone but me. James, Jacob and Rose quickly changed the way they were sitting.

"Mommy, the new truck is awesome!" Alex said coming over to me with a huge grin on his face.

"I bet," I said wrapping my arms around him. I looked up at my father. "So, new guys coming in?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders running his hand over his head.

"Yeah, the commissioner said they were great firemen, and didn't want them to fall into the cracks."

"When do they arrive?"

"Monday after next."

"Okay, I'll come by and make dinner for everyone," I said. My mom, Alice and I did it every time the firehouse welcomed new guys. My father simply nodded because he already knew I was going to say that.

"Is that little Bella?" I heard my father's longtime friend Marcus yell as he came into the room. I shook my head because he still acted as if I was six.

"Hey, Marcus," I said greeting him.

"Charlie, she's getting more beautiful every day," Marcus said hugging me.

"Tell me about it," my father said with a grin. I talked to everyone for a little while and then my father asked me to come back to his office.

"Alex, stay up here with Uncle Jake, Aunt Rose and Uncle James, please," I told him. He nodded as he continued trying to win at thumb war against James. I followed my father back to his office.

"How are you?" he asked sitting down. I looked at him confused because he was asking me as if he hadn't just seen me yesterday.

"I'm good."

"Really, Bella?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Your mother and I worry about you," he said sitting back in his chair. "For different reasons, but we worry about you nonetheless," he told me. I groaned sitting down.

"Yes, Mom told me I need a husband," I replied. My father laughed.

"I told her to just leave you alone about that. You're a lot like your old man—stubborn and independent," he said with a grin on his face. "I worry that you aren't living your life, though, baby girl. Before you had Alex you traveled for your work," he reminded me. "You loved it. You went out more, did things for you."

"I have Alex, Dad. I can't travel the way I used to."

"You know Mom and I would watch him, so would Alice and Jasper. Hell, Jake would be more than happy to do it," he told me. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Alex isn't any of your responsibility. He's mine and—"

"You're my daughter and he's my grandson, Bella. Look, I just don't want you to lose yourself, okay? It was different when Alex was younger, but he's getting older. You can start making small trips, really get back into your work," he said. I shook my head.

"I'm happy, Dad, really," I told him. He didn't looked convinced, but I could see that he was going to drop it.

"Mom used to want to be an artist. She quit when she got pregnant with Alice, then you soon followed and then CJ," he said with a shake of his head. CJ was my and Alice's little brother, Charlie Jr. He was currently away in the service. Gave my parents a serious heart attack when he enlisted. My father often thought he ruined Mom's life by getting her knocked up with us.

"Mom, doesn't regret any of it."

"Yeah, she says that but…"

"...you should believe her, Dad. She still paints, it might not be professional like she dreamed but she does. And she says all the time that her greatest masterpiece was marrying you and having the three of us," I reminded him. He smiled at me.

"I just want you to remember that life doesn't wait for anyone. I don't want you to have any regrets later down the road," he told me.

"I don't have any now. Seriously, Dad, I'm happy," I told him. After we finished talking, Alex and I left for home. When I turned onto our street there was a large ass U-Haul truck blocking my way.

I didn't see anyone in the driver's seat and from where I was, I couldn't see anyone. I pushed down on the car horn until I saw a guy walk around the car.

"What the hell, lady!" he yelled at me.

"What the hell with you! Can you please move your damn truck? You know other people do live on this block," I yelled back at him.

"Can't you just go around? I'm moving in right here," he said waving to the house that was directly across the street from mine.

"No, because I live right there," I said pointing to my house.

"What's wrong, Paul?" I heard someone yell.

"This lady wants us to move the truck!" Paul yelled back to whoever was talking to him. Another guy appeared, this one was huge. Like I mean he looked like he could probably lift my car off the street.

"Look lady…"

"The name is Bella," I snapped at him getting sick and tired of them calling me _lady_.

" _Bella_ , we only have a few more things to move in and…"

"…and I want to pull into my driveway, get my son in the house so that I can make him dinner, and move on with my life. You can move the truck, trust me, it won't kill you," I said cutting him off. The big one looked at the other one who was just called Paul and started laughing.

"Your husband must have trouble with you," the big one said and I glared at him. Why the hell was everyone assuming I was fucking married?

I didn't need a man!

"My mommy doesn't have a husband, she's lonely," Alex said from the backseat. Paul and the big one started laughing again.

"The correct term is single, Alex. And, if the two of you don't move, you'll have a problem with me."

"Really, what are you going to do?" Paul asked with a grin on his face. Inhaling a deep breath I reminded myself that Alex was in the car.

"What the hell, you two? We need to get this shit out of the truck so I can get it back," I heard another guy yell from behind the truck.

"Apparently, our new neighbor wants us to move the truck," the big one yelled.

"Why?" the invisible guy yelled back.

"Because she lives across the street from us," Paul replied back with a stupid grin on his face.

"She can either drive around like everyone else or wait, because I'm not moving the damn truck until we're done unloading," the invisible guy yelled back. I inhaled an irritated breath and seriously considered ramming the damn truck.

"Mommy, I just want to go home. I'm hungry," Alex said from the backseat as he rubbed his stomach. I placed the car in reverse.

"Having this truck blocking the street is not only a traffic violation but a fire hazard. You'll be hearing from my father, trust me," I told them as I pulled back. They laughed at me again and I decided right then. I hated my new neighbors and probably Mr. Invisible the most, because he didn't even have the fucking balls to come speak to me directly.

I went around the block to take the other road that led to my street. It was honestly out of my way, but my son was hungry, and I didn't have the time or patience to argue with idiots any further.

When I finally made it back to my house, I pulled into my driveway and let Alex out. I looked across the street and saw Paul and the big one entering the house as they carried a huge ass television into the house.

A third guy came out of the house and I had a feeling he was Mr. Invisible. He was cute, from what I could see anyway. Then the bastard waved at me with a stupid grin on his face.

Fucker.

Well, there goes the neighborhood.

* * *

A/N

I hope you enjoyed that. Thanks for reading whether you were a new comer or rereading for pleasure! Review if your heart desires!

Love, Emotion


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello my lovelies! I'm back and will be reposting stories slowly!**_

 _ ** _ **This story will be all Bella POV, you know me I'll probably throw an Edward POV in the mix eventually.**_**_

 _ **I don't own twilight...yeah I think that sucks too.**_

 _ **But Alex is mine, he is loosely based off my son, so happy reading!**_

* * *

 ** _Chapter Two: Confrontation_**

I stood under the head of my shower as the hot water woke me up. Like most of the people in the world I hated Mondays. Waking Alex up on Mondays had to be one of the hardest things to do because the boy slept like the dead.

I had so much to do today, and I just wanted to…

"Shit!" I yelled jumping out of the shower. I could hear the damn trash truck coming down the street, and as usual, I forgot to put the trash out last night. Jake was never going to let me forget it if he found out I forgot to put the trash out again. Quickly, I shut the shower off and grabbed my bathrobe. Rushing out of the bathroom, I slipped on my slippers and started getting all the trash together as fast as I could.

I knew I wasn't going to wake Alex because he could sleep through a Zombie apocalypse. I rushed downstairs and tossed the small bags into the large trash bag in the kitchen. Taking the large trash bag out, I rushed out the door hearing the trash truck coming further down the street.

Then as usual my luck sucked ass, I tripped over the frame of the door losing my slipper, my bathrobe rope got caught on the doorknob causing my door to slam shut behind me, getting the belt caught in the door.

"Motherfucker," I breathed because my door locked automatically. Extra safety precaution my father made when he had my security system placed in my house.

I now stood in my frontyard, with one slipper, a bag of garbage, and a bathrobe I was holding together for dear life. The trash truck pulled up and I slowly walked to the curb dragging the trash bag behind me.

Then it fucking ripped open all over my lawn.

"Sonofabitch!" I yelled getting not only the trash collectors' attention, but my neighbors as well. Yes, that included Mr. Invisible. He stood there with a fucking grin on his face as he leaned against the fence on his porch.

I had trash all over my lawn, a robe that didn't want to stay closed and idiots watching me probably begging Mother Nature to let the wind blow just a little bit harder. One of the trash collectors started walking up my walkway.

"Do you need some help, miss?" he asked pointing to all the trash on my lawn. I wanted to yell "well duh," but decided that would be rude since he was actually trying to help. He tried to help me get most of the trash back into the bag.

Once we had at least the big shit up, I told him I could just clean up the rest later. He nodded walking back to the trash truck. Still holding my robe closed I saw that Mr. Invisible was still watching me from across the street.

Rolling my eyes at him I went to try and find the extra key I left behind the star just under my porch light. Only it wasn't there.

"Fucking Jacob," I breathed knowing it was his fault my key wasn't there. I started knocking on my door hoping it would wake Alex and he would come downstairs. I knocked harder and even started to shout his name.

I was gathering an audience but I really didn't care.

"Need some help?" I heard a deep voice ask from behind me. Slowly, I forced myself to turn around.

Holy hell! Mr. Invisible was much hotter close up. He had olive-colored eyes, light brown hair, broad shoulders, a perfectly chiseled jaw; he was at least six foot two and I wanted to suck on his lips until they were swollen.

Maybe it's been awhile since I've had sex.

"Are you just going to stare at me?" he asked getting my attention. I shook my head trying to clear it.

"I'm locked out," I said pointing to my door.

"Are any of your windows open that I could climb through. I mean, it wouldn't be the best idea if you climbed through with uh—you know," he said nodding toward my body.

"My son is in the house."

"I'll be quick," he replied. I turned walking him around the house to the window I knew was slightly open from last night. He pushed the potted plants that were there out of the way and lifted the window up some more. I bit the inside of my jaw to keep from moaning at the sight of Mr. Invisible's bicep. He started to climb through my window and then stopped.

"I'm Edward by the way," he said before he continued to climb into my window. I walked back to my front door to wait for him to open it. My next door neighbor looked at me with a stank look on her face.

I ignored her nosey ass as I waited for Mr. Invisible—I mean Edward to open my door.

"What did you do with my mommy, you burglar!" I suddenly hear Alex yelling. My heart races in my chest as I peek into the front window near the front door. I watch as Alex punches and kicks Edward repeatedly.

I couldn't resist laughing as I watched this man shielding his balls from my son.

"I didn't do anything to her!" Edward yelled back at him.

"Then where is she! She wasn't in her room and my mommy would never leave me home alone!" he yelled as he continued to punch Edward. Then Edward caught Alex's hands trying to stop the attack.

"Chill little man," I heard Edward say. Then Alex screamed at the top of his lungs and head butted the hell out of Edward. I couldn't stop laughing as I tapped on the window to get Alex's attention.

"Mommy!" he yelled once he saw me. He rushed to the door and opened it. I walked inside pulling Alex to my side as I tried holding in my laughter as I looked at Edward. "This guy tried to steal you, Mommy," Alex said pointing at Edward.

"Umm, bud, this is our neighbor Edward from across the street," I told him. "Remember the new neighbors that just moved in?"

"You mean the ones you told Aunt Ali were big penis heads," Alex said causing Edward to look at me with a brow raised. I cleared my throat pulling Alex tighter to my side.

"Yes, and how many times have I told you to stop eavesdropping, it's not nice," I told him and he started to giggle. "Edward was trying to help me get back into the house because I locked myself out…"

"Again?" Alex asked looking up at me.

"It's Uncle Jake's fault. He didn't put the key back again," I said. Alex shook his head.

"I'm telling Gramma Sue so she can kick his butt again," he said making me laugh at the thought. "I'm sorry Mr. Edwood. I didn't mean to hurt you," Alex said looking down at the ironman slippers he was wearing.

"Edward, this is my son Alex. And I am so sorry about uh—the beat down," I said with a smirk on my face. Edward looked at me and then Alex.

"It's not every day a twenty nine-year-old guy gets his ass kicked by a kid…"

"Language," I hissed at him.

"You owe me a dollar, and I'm not a kid. I'm a big boy. I'm five now," Alex told him holding up all five fingers.

"Sorry, little man," Edward said rubbing the top of Alex's head. Alex slapped his hand away glaring at him.

"He doesn't like people touching his hair," I said. Edward looked at me silently asking if I was serious. I nodded letting him know I was.

"You're in your house now so can we just call this even for the not moving the truck?" Edward asked. I laughed nodding at him.

"That's fair."

"Good, and little man, you have a mean right hook. Your dad teach you to punch like that?" Edward asked him.

"No, my grandpa," Alex answered with a huge smile on his face. Edward nodded and looked at me one more time. I watched as he licked his lips with a grin on his face. I was trying to figure out what he was looking at when I realized that my robe was slipping and showing off the flesh of my breast.

I snatched my robe tighter and he actually winked at me.

"Thank you, Edward," I said walking over to my door and holding it open. He laughed walking out.

"I like you in blue," he said winking at me as he walked out the door. I probably growled.

"Put some ice on your head or you'll have a knot there later!" I yelled as he crossed the street back to his house. He flagged his hand up in the air and I realized that he was giving me the finger.

Shaking my head I shut the door and turned to look at Alex.

"So Mom, what's for breakfast?" he asked as if what just happened was completely normal. I laughed finally placing my belt back on my robe. Walking into the kitchen I started making Alex breakfast.

Wanting to forget about my horrible morning, I continued with the rest of my day. I took Alex to school and headed into work.

"Morning Sunshine! You look like shit," Angela said following me into my office.

"Thanks, just what I wanted to hear," I replied with a smirk as I sat behind my desk. She laughed placing my cup of coffee and mail on my desk. I picked up my cup as I started to go through my mail.

I really didn't need an office, but Alice wanted me to have one because I was technically her partner in the Magazine. A silent partner, but partner all the same. I didn't want any control over what happened with the magazine.

She needed investors for the magazine and I made great money as a photographer when I used to travel. So I did what any good sister would do, I invested in my sister's dream.

"Jessica Stanley keeps calling to see if you have any openings to do her wedding," Angela said placing at least five pink post-its in front of me. I picked them up and saw that each was a message from Jessica.

I guess I should have been grateful that she wasn't bugging me when I picked up Alex from school.

"What is she doing, planning her wedding around my schedule or something? I mean, there are other photographers out there," I said with a shake of my head.

"Yes, but they're not as amazing as you are."

"Angela, you're already getting your raise so stop blowing smoke up my ass," I told her. She laughed sitting down in the chair in front of my desk.

"I'm serious, Bella. I mean, give yourself some credit here. You are amazing and everyone who has seen your work knows it. Jessica has seen the work you did for Lauren's wedding, and we both know it took much more than make-up to make her look beautiful on her wedding day," Angela said causing me to laugh.

"Fine, what day did she ask for?"

"Valentine's Day, that's when they want to get married, but she said she'll take whatever you have available."

"I never have any plans on Valentine's Day other than sitting in the house complaining about all the love-sick couples, while Alex goes to the kiddy Valentine's party Alice gives Maria every year. Tell her I'll do it," I replied. Angela nodded getting up from her seat.

"Okay, and you have the Fashion over Fifty shoot at noon."

"I remembered, thanks Ang," I told her. She nodded walking out of my office and shutting the door behind her. I continued to look through my mail just as I heard my cell phone start to ring. I groaned because it was playing Sam's ringtone.

I didn't hate Sam, I just never liked talking to him, especially if it didn't concern Alex. He made my damn head hurt most days.

"Hey Sam, it's early for you, isn't it?" I asked knowing it had to be about four or five in the morning in Seattle.

"You know I get up early to train, are you busy?" he asked. I sat back and looked at the time.

"No, I have some time before my shoot starts for today. What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Alex coming out here to Seattle," he said I sat back in my chair surprised because he never called for Alex to come visit.

"When?"

"Next week, I have a game and Igotengagedandwanthimtomeetmyfiancée," he rushed out that last part and all I got was _fiancée_.

"Did you just say fiancée?" I asked wanting to be sure that's what I heard him say. He cleared his throat.

"Yeah. I got engaged."

"I didn't know you were dating anyone, at least not serious," I said surprised that Sam Black was engaged. The guy was the biggest jerk in the world. I mean, when I told him I was pregnant he asked me if I was sure I took the test correctly and then asked if it was his.

"Is this a problem? I mean, you made it clear when you were pregnant with Alex you didn't want to even try with us and…"

"…Sam, this isn't a problem," I assured him. When I became pregnant with Alex our parents tried to force something that wasn't there. I knew if I wasn't pregnant we would have never ever considered dating, and I wasn't about to force it now. Many people raised children without having to be together and I was sure Sam and I could, too. "I just mean I don't know how Alex will take to meeting a woman his father already plans to marry before he even got to meet her," I continued to explain to him.

"Yeah true, he hated Kelly when he met her."

"Exactly, maybe you and…"

"Emily."

"Emily—should fly out here during your bye-week. One next week is sort of last minute, and he has school. He'll be excited to see you and then you can introduce him to Emily with me, my parents, your parents and Jake around."

"You were always the smart one Bella," he said with a laugh.

"Yeah, whatever. So, tell me about Emily. Is she at least smarter than Kelly?" I asked and he started laughing.

"Yes, she knows how to read smart ass," he tossed back making me laugh.

"Have you told Jake and your parents yet?" I asked him.

"No, I wanted to call you first so that you heard it from me. It just happened last night," he said sounding excited. I was surprised that he even considered calling me first. Maybe this Emily was good for him.

"Well, I'm happy for you Sam, really."

"That means a lot to me coming from you. I mean, I know we never really dated, but you are the mother of my son so your opinion is important to me as well," he told me. I pulled my phone from my ear and looked at it to make sure this was the Sam I've known for pretty much my entire life.

"Seriously, who are you and what have you done with Samuel Joseph Black?" I half joked placing the phone back to my ear. He laughed into the phone.

"I'm right here, just a little more grown up. I think you'll like Emily."

"Well, if she's the reason for this change, then I like her already. I'll have Alex call you later tonight so you can at least mention her to him so he's not blindsided, okay," I told him. We talked for a little while longer before I had to head down to the set for the shoot.

It took about four hours to complete the shoot. I was so damn thankful that my mom was picking Alex up from school today. After work I rushed home to change into something more comfortable.

"Mommy!" Alex yelled running over to me and hugging my legs when I walked into the house.

"Hey, bud, how was school?"

"Great! I got all the words right when Ms. Stanley asked me to spell them," he said with a huge grin on his face.

"Really? Oh then, I see a huge piece of a brownie in your future," I told him he grinned at me even harder.

"Oh, wait I made you a picture," he said running off. I smiled and walked into my kitchen seeing my mom and Alice already in there cooking.

"You know, I still don't understand why we have to cook in my kitchen," I said as I looked at what they prepared. We always made so much that we usually started cooking before we went to the firehouse to save the waiting period.

They could be called on a call while we were there, so we knew how important it was to have the food ready as soon as possible.

"Because it's easier. You live closer to the firehouse than we do," Alice answered as she mixed the tomato sauce on the stove. "How was the shoot today?" she asked looking at me now.

"It went great. I mean, it took longer than I anticipated but it was good," I said tasting the spinach that was on the stove. I quickly grabbed some seasonings and seasoned them. My mother did not believe in seasonings, I was sure of it.

"Auntie Bella!" I heard the most adorable little girl in the world scream as she came rushing into the kitchen like a tornado. I turned picking her up and kissing her cheek.

"Maria, you look very pretty in your tutu," I told her. She smiled at me as she played with the tutu.

"Thank you," she sort of whispered.

"Hey, Bells," my brother-in-law Jasper said coming into the kitchen. I swear Alice pulled him right out of GQ magazine. He walked over greeting my sister first with a kiss. I rolled my eyes because the two of them could be sickening. He placed a kiss on my mother and my cheek next.

"How was work, honey?" Alice asked him. Jasper was a district attorney and sometimes the stories he told us about were just horrific.

"Stressful," he said opening my fridge and taking out a beer.

"Mommy, here's the picture," Alex said coming into the kitchen. I put Maria down and looked at the picture Alex drew for me. I wasn't sure what it was, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"It's awesome bud, can I put it on the fridge?" I asked him. He nodded as he watched me place it on the door of the refrigerator.

"You ladies about ready to head to the firehouse?" Jasper asked us. Even though he didn't grow up in a fireman's household, he still participated in everything we did for the firehouse.

I rushed upstairs to change into a pair of jeans and a sweater and then we all left for the firehouse. When we arrived I saw that two of the fire trucks were out. Meaning they got called to an emergency. Parking my car I grabbed the dishes and headed inside to the kitchen.

My mom said she was going to let Dad's secretary know we were here. Maria, Alex and Jasper set up all the plates, napkins and utensils, while Alice and I set up the food. I heard one of the trucks return and a second later James, Rose, Felix, Seth and Marcus walked in. Mom soon came in with some of the other guys.

Seeing that I knew everyone I assumed the new guys were still out on a call. Alice, my mom and I fed the guys as they came over.

"Gentlemen! You're about to have the luxury of having my wife and daughters' cooking," I heard my father yell just before he walks into the cafeteria. I look up to say hello and…

"Are you fucking kidding me!" I shouted looking at my new neighbors. Paul, Edward and the big one. I still didn't know his name.

"You owe me a dollar, mommy!" Alex yelled. I dug in my pocket and handed it to him. He ran over taking it from me.

"Hi Edwood, I didn't know you worked with my Grandpa and Uncle Jake," Alex said looking at Edward.

"You're the chief's daughter?" Edward asked pointing at me and then my father.

"You know my daughter?" my father asked getting his chest all puffed up. Inhaling a deep breath I turned to my father.

"Dad, these are the guys I told you about. You know the ones who wouldn't move their truck," I reminded him. His eyes went large.

"No shit?"

"No shit," I replied and before Alex could tell me I owned him another dollar I handed him two for me and my father.

"Wait, Bells and Alex are the crazy neighbors you told us about? My nephew is the kid that gave you that knot on your head?" Jacob said causing everyone to laugh as he high-fived Alex. Edward didn't look pleased not that I really cared.

"That reminds me, Jake! Where the hell is my extra house key?" I yelled pointing my finger at him. He stopped laughing as he looked at me.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Bella," he said probably realizing none of that would have happened if he would have put my extra key back.

"Which one is Mr. Invisible, I mean, obviously that's Hercules over there," Alice said pointing at the big one and calling him the name I gave him. I pointed at Edward and she giggled.

"He's cute," she whispered into my ear. "I mean not as cute as my Jazz, but he's not bad to look at," she continued. I shook my head trying not to look back at Edward because I could feel his eyes on me.

"Of all the women in the world to piss off, we had to go ahead and piss off our Chief's daughter," Paul said running his fingers through his hair. The big one stepped over to us making sure to avoid my father. He held his hand out to Alex first.

"Well uh, I'm Emmett," he said shaking Alex's hand, then my mother's, Alice's and then mine. "That's Paul and you've obviously already met Edward."

Paul and Edward came over shaking our hands. Edward held my hand a little longer, or maybe I was holding his.

"Let me get this straight, you mean to tell me that when you told me about the neighbor you had with great tits you were talking about my little girl?" my father said causing the entire room to go silent while Edward's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his head.

* * *

A/N

I hope you enjoyed that. Thanks for reading whether you were a new comer or rereading for pleasure! Review if your heart desires!

Love, Emotion


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hello my lovelies! I'm back and will be reposting stories slowly!**_

 _ ** _ **This story will be all Bella POV, you know me I'll probably throw an Edward POV in the mix eventually.**_**_

 _ **I don't own twilight...yeah I think that sucks too.**_

 _ **But Alex is mine, he is loosely based off my son, so happy reading!**_

 _ **Sorry totally meant to post this last night!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

 ** _Chapter Three: Conversation_**

"You want to explain yourself?" my father barked and I think I actually watched Edward jump. Great another guy afraid of my father.

"Dad, he didn't know that…"

"…I'm not speaking to you, Isabella," he said calling me my full name. I rolled my eyes looking towards my mother for some help but she was useless. She looked like she was enjoying this.

"Charlie—I mean chief I uh—see I didn't…" Edward stuttered along. Then he cursed under his breath. The entire room was silent until the fire alarm went off alerting them of a call. I saw the relief pass through Edward's entire body. The dispatcher's voice came on over the speakers letting them know it was a house fire, and a car accident.

"Let's go!" my father yelled throwing his hand up in the air.

"We'll talk later, we got all night," my father said pointing his finger at Edward. Quickly, everyone jumped up and headed out of the cafeteria. Edward let my hand go and then rushed out as well without so much as a backward glance in my direction.

"Dad," I said in a warning tone. He grinned at me.

"Ladies, get home safely," he said before placing a kiss on our foreheads and leaving the cafeteria as well. Taking that as a sign that dinner was over we covered up all the food and put it away for them to eat later.

Once we cleaned the kitchen we all headed home.

"Mom, I'm going to be a firefighter just like Bubba and Uncle Jake," Alex told me from the backseat. I smiled looking at him through my rearview mirror.

"I thought you wanted to play football like your dad," I replied.

"I'm going to play football like Dad, then a firefighter and then the president," Alex informed me. I laughed loving that everything was still so possible to him. By the time we got home Alex had fallen asleep.

The minute I cut the car off he woke up.

"Did you have a nice nap?" I asked looking back at him.

"I wasn't asleep."

"You weren't?"

"No, my eyes were watching a movie in my head," he answered causing me to laugh again. Shaking my head I climbed out of the car and then opened the back door so that he could get out.

"Bella!" I suddenly hear someone shout. I turn around to see my next door neighbor Leah waving at me. I groan because I did not feel like listening to whatever she was about to complain about.

"Hey Leah," I called back as I headed up my front steps to my porch. I unlocked the front door and quickly put in the security code. I turned to shut my door and damn near jumped out of my skin seeing Leah standing on my porch. "Shit, you scared me," I said with my hand over my chest.

"Mommy," Alex said tapping his foot with his hand out for the dollar I now owed him.

"I'll give it to you in a minute, bud. Why don't you go upstairs and check on Rafael," I said referring to his turtle. He nodded turning and running upstairs. I brought my attention back to Leah.

"He's so adorable, he looks just like his daddy," Leah said with that dreamy look on her face. I rolled my eyes because to someone who didn't know any better, they would assume that was just a simple compliment but I knew better.

Leah and Sam used to date when they were in high school. In my opinion, she was obsessed with Sam. So imagine my luck that I ended up buying the house next door to hers. Jake thought it was the funniest fucking thing in the world, naturally I disagreed.

"How can I help you, Leah?" I asked her already preparing to close the door in her face.

"I heard that you've met our new neighbors," she said looking back at me now.

"Yes, I've met them?"

"Do you know if they're single?" she asked with excitement as if we were back in high school. I rolled my eyes inhaling a deep breath.

"I don't know because I didn't ask."

"I would have asked, it's been a long time since we've had some eye candy around here, other than when your brother-in-law and father come to visit you of course," she said as if I was getting ready to agree with her. I made sure to save her remarks in my memory bank to let my mom and Alice know about it later.

"Then maybe you should go across the street and ask them, they seem really friendly," I replied with a grin.

"Oh I did, but I guess they're not home," she said looking back across the street as if someone was going to suddenly appear. "Anyway, I just wanted to see what you thought of them; I mean it is three guys in one house," she said looking back at me now.

"Yeah, so..."

"Have you had Jacob check them out yet?" she asked finally getting to the point of her visit. Maybe I forgot to mention that Jacob was gay. Not exactly a huge thing to me, but you know some people cared about things like that.

Anyway, it was no secret that sometimes I had Jake check out the guys I dated, you know as a precaution. Obviously, Leah wanted to know if I had done so for our new neighbors.

"No, because I don't plan on dating any of them."

"Well, could you ask him to check them out for me and…"

"I'm not lending my best friend out as some gaydar detector. Now, if you want to ask him yourself, then you are more than welcome to do so, but I won't be asking him for you," I said stepping back into my house so that I could close the door. "Have a nice night, Leah," I told her before closing the door in her face.

"Mom, I think Rafael is dead!" Alex yelled from upstairs. Groaning, I head upstairs to Alex's bedroom. He was standing in front of his the tank tapping the glass. I turned the light on for the tank and saw the turtle in the corner behind one of the rocks.

I squatted down so that I could get a better view. The turtle then looked at me and I swear it winked. I laughed standing back up.

"He's not dead, bud. Just sleeping," I told him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now get out of those clothes and get ready for your bath," I said walking out of his bedroom.

"But Mom! My shows come on tonight," he said following behind me. I groaned because we did this routine every night before bed.

"You've seen them all a million times."

"Na-ah, I've only seen them a thousand times," he replied following me into his bathroom. I sat down on the toilet and waved Alex over to me. He came over standing between my legs.

"You watch all of your shows on Saturday, but tonight you're going to take your bath and get ready for bed…"

"…but Mom."

"No, buts about it, bud. Now get going while I start your bath," I replied pointing toward his bedroom. He pouted dropping his head and walking out of the bathroom. I knew he was only putting on a show to make me feel guilty.

I turned the water on in the tub just as I heard the house phone ring. I knew it was probably Sam, because he tried calling Alex every night before he went to bed.

"I'll get it!" Alex yelled. I didn't bother moving because I knew he would get to the phone before me.

"Hi Dad," I heard Alex say from my bedroom. "It was good, I got all my spelling words right. I am not a nerd like Mommy," he said and I shook my head. I never liked to feel like I was eavesdropping on his calls with Sam, so I closed the bathroom door so that I wouldn't hear him. I checked the water's temperature. Once I was happy with the water, I turned the faucet off and then got up to get Alex ready.

When I walked into my room, Alex was sitting on my bed, and he didn't look too happy with whatever Sam was telling him. I figured it was probably about his new girlfriend Emily.

"I guess," he pouted into the phone. "I have to go take my bath now, bye Dad," he said getting up from my bed. I could hear Sam was still talking as Alex took the phone from his ear and handed the phone to me.

"You okay, bud?"

"Yes, I'm going to just take my bath now," he said walking out of my room. I placed the phone to my ear and I could hear Sam cursing under his breath.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"I told him about Emily," Sam said sounding like he was beating himself up about whatever just happened.

"Sam, I'm sure once Alex meets her he'll love her," I replied walking back to Alex's room so that I could get his pajamas out.

"I told him we were getting married," he said and I groaned because he obviously didn't listen when I told him to wait to tell Alex until he was here in person.

"Sam, I told you to…"

"…I know what you told me, but he's my son, too, and I just really wanted to share my good news with him," Sam said cutting me off.

"And you would have in person when you got here, so that Jake and I would be there, too," I replied.

"Why do I need babysitters to talk to my own son?" he barked at me. I ran my fingers through my hair not in the mood to argue with him. Whenever something didn't go the way he wanted when it came to Alex, I had to deal with Sam's bullshit.

"Look when you come visit in a few weeks he'll…"

"…I can't come visit. Emily wants me to go home with her to meet her parents and…."

"Meeting her parents is more important than coming to see your son? The son you haven't seen in over three months?" I snapped trying to whisper even though I was now pissed the hell off. I walked back to my room so that Alex wouldn't hear me.

"Oh, here we go with this shit. I know how long it's been but I have a life, too, Bella. You knew how crazy my life was before you had Alex. I send you more than enough money in child support, so don't try to make it sound like I'm a horrible father," he screamed at me. I inhaled a deep breath.

"I wasn't trying to imply you were a horrible father, Sam. But seriously, this is fucked up. Alex wants to see you…"

"Then fly him out here like I asked you to."

"I have to work, I can't just drop everything because you suddenly called for Alex to come out to Seattle to visit you," I replied. Sam blew an irritated breath into the phone.

"Then send him by himself, they have those flight attendants who deal with kids who fly alone," he replied and I felt my irritation with him and this entire situation reach its boiling point.

"I'm not flying my baby across the country by himself! I don't care if they have Mary fucking Poppins on the flight. He's only five, Sam!" I yelled.

"He's not a baby, Bella! It's time to pop your titty out of his mouth and let the boy grow up. I know people who've let their four-year-olds fly alone," he snapped and there was the fucking jerk I've known all my life.

"They're probably idiots just like you! I don't give a damn what other people have done! This is _my_ son we're talking about and I'm not sending him on a flight by himself from New York to Seattle!" I shouted. I ran my fingers through my hair as I tried to calm myself down.

I knew that Alex could probably hear me arguing with Sam.

"Fine, I'll come and get him then," Sam said and then he hung up on me. I sat down on my bed completely fucking pissed off right now. I swear I would never understand how Sam and Jacob grew up in the same house.

They had different mothers, but I mean could that have really made that much of a difference.

"Mommy?" I heard Alex call from the bathroom. I inhaled a deep breath and got up from my bed and walked to his bathroom.

"Yeah, bud?" I asked him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay; you ready to get out?" I asked grabbing his towel. He nodded. I helped him out of the tub and then dried him off. I got him tucked into bed and read him his favorite book _One Fish, Two Fish, Red fish, Blue fish_.

He was asleep in no time. Feeling exhausted I went downstairs to pour myself a glass of wine. I heard my front door beep alerting me that it was being opened.

"Wine? Who pissed you off this time?" Jacob asked coming into the living room.

"Your brother," I replied drinking from my glass again. He sat down next to me tossing his arm behind me.

"Why do you let him get under your skin so damn much?" he asked me.

"Because he's Alex's father."

"He's Alex's sperm donor and part-time father when it's convenient for him. I love my brother, but I don't know why you expected him to change after you had Alex," Jacob said with a shake of his head.

"Most people grow up when they become a parent," I said sitting back against the couch and placing my head on Jake's shoulder. I so damn sure when he called earlier today that he had finally got his head out of his ass.

"But Sam isn't a parent. He's a guy who pays child support, plays professional football, while living the single life in Seattle. He only has to deal with Alex when he wants to," Jacob pointed out. I inhaled a deep breath starting to feel guilty.

After I got pregnant with Alex, Sam and Jacob's relationship started to change. Jake hated that Sam never seemed even the tiniest bit interested in my pregnancy. I didn't mind so much because well, we weren't together, but Jake was pissed.

Sam never attended doctor's appointments. He wasn't even there the day Alex was born; Jacob and Alice were in the delivery room with me.

"If I didn't get drunk that night…"

"…Alex, wouldn't be here. Look the situation was fucked up then and it's fucked now, but don't beat yourself up over it, Bella. Sam is just as guilty as you are; hell more in my opinion. He wasn't drunk that night. He's wanted to sleep with you ever since your tits grew in freshman year of high school, and that night you gave him the perfect opportunity. I always thought maybe if I was there I could have stopped it, but…"

"…You can't blame yourself, Jake. You're weren't our babysitter, plus that was the night you and Tyler met. If you were there, you wouldn't have met the love of your life," I said wiggling my eyebrows. Jake laughed but he blushed. Jake had met his partner Tyler that night when he made a run to the store for Sam. Now that I think about it, it was probably all set up by Sam for us to sleep together that night. I shook my head not even wanting to think about it. "Plus, as you said, Alex wouldn't be here if it didn't happen…it turned out to be a blessing anyway," I continued. Then I sat up and looked at him.

"I didn't even tell you what Sam did, why are you taking my side?"

"Because when it comes to Alex, you're usually right so I just figured you were this time, too. Why...what did he do?" Jake asked. I shook my head not wanting to tell him since Sam said he wanted to tell Jake himself that he was getting married.

Instead I just told him about Sam telling me to send Alex out to Seattle alone.

"See told you, you were right," Jake said making me laugh.

"Alex does miss him though, Jake. Maybe sending him wouldn't be…"

"You're his mother, his primary caretaker. Don't do anything you don't feel comfortable with just to make Sam's fucking life easier. He can come and get Alex if he has the free time to ask for him, whatever bullshit he told you as to why he couldn't come isn't more important than his son, and if he thinks it is, then he doesn't need to have Alex there with him in the first place," Jake said cutting me off.

I could tell that Jake was getting pissed so I decided to change the subject.

"Did Tyler have to work tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah, he was on call. Figured I'd come over here and bother you," he answered making me laugh.

"More like you're scared of being in your and Tyler's apartment alone, so you came to crash on my couch," I teased and he mugged me. Jacob was positive there was a ghost in his and Tyler's apartment. Tyler and I, of course, just thought Jacob was being a big ass baby, but Tyler would never tell Jake that so he went along with it.

"Are you going to tell me about this morning with Edward?" Jake asked. I rolled my eyes hearing Edward's name.

"What is there to tell, I'm sure he told all of you everything."

"He called Alex one of the kids from the movie _Children of the Damned_ ," he told me and I laughed my ass off.

"Alex was just trying to defend his mommy who he thought was kidnapped," I said still laughing. Jake shook his head as he laughed.

"That boy has bigger balls than most grown men," Jake said with a shake of his head.

"Tell me about it," I replied running my fingers through my hair.

"He asked me about you?" Jake suddenly said.

"Who?"

"You know who."

"No, I don't know who."

"Edward…"

"Oh please."

"He did, he wanted to know if you were with anyone, specifically Alex's father. He asked me because he's scared shitless of Charlie and he figured I was related to you somehow since Alex called me Uncle Jake," he told me. I chewed my lip trying to decide what to do with this information.

"What did you say?"

"That you were madly in love with me," he joked and I slapped him laughing. "Seriously, I told him that you were single and ready to mingle," he replied laughing. I rolled my eyes shaking my head.

"You get on my damn nerves," I said shaking my head.

"He thinks you're hot, Bella."

"So."

"What do you mean so? When was the last time you went out with a guy who wasn't me and Tyler?" he asked. I went to respond and he held up his hand. "Don't you dare say you've been out with Jasper or Bubba either," he said knowing me entirely too damn well.

"Fine, it's been awhile, but I don't meet many guys. At work most of them are gay, and at the firehouse they are like family there."

"But Edward isn't."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I think the two of you could hit it off," he said.

"Why are you trying to play matchmaker. I mean you've just met him, what if he's an even bigger jerk than Sam?"

"No one is a bigger jerk than Sam and you know it. Plus, I didn't just meet him. We actually trained together at the academy," he answered and I looked at him in shock.

"What?"

"Remember the guy I called Shamrock?" he asked me. I tried to remember and then it hit. Jake used to always tell me about this cute guy at the academy. He said he was pretty sure the guy was Irish and that he had the cutest green eyes he'd ever seen.

I used to tease him about having a crush on him all the time. During that time though, Jake was actually still in the closet so only I knew he was gay. Then some dick found out at the academy, and a few of the guys gave him a hard time and Shamrock took up for him.

"Oh my god! Edward is Shamrock?"

"Yeah," Jake said nodding.

"What are the fucking chances," I said with a shake of my head.

"That's what I said, but it's great to work in the same house as him. He's a good guy, Bells," Jake said and I could tell he really wanted me to consider this.

"Why is this so important to you? I mean, if you thought we could hit it off why didn't you introduce us then?"

"Because you were dating that dick Troy, and honestly I sort of liked him, and if I couldn't have him neither could you," Jake told me and I laughed trying to make sure I wasn't loud enough to wake Alex.

"Oh, but now I have your permission?"

"Yeah, I already have the love of my life. Maybe Edward is yours," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Ugh, I hate that you're a newlywed now. I mean, I love it, but you're such a damn romantic now and you keep trying to help me find the love of my life. Honestly, Jake, my luck doesn't work that way."

"Maybe you'll have better luck this time," Jake said sounding hopeful as always.

"We're getting carried away here," I said shaking my head.

"He thinks you're beautiful, Bells. I mean he couldn't stop talking about you today," Jake told me. I shook my head.

"I doubt it, I mean my five-year-old son beat him up," I giggled and Jake laughed.

"Okay, that might have been a setback. I mean his pride was hurt but he likes you."

"He doesn't know me."

"Do you think I've only talked about him to you? I've talked about you to him plenty of times, especially when the situation happened," he told me. "He likes you, even if he doesn't realize it yet."

"Jake, you're delusional."

"I'm right, and when the both of you figure that out I want a thank you," he told me; I shook my head.

"You're acting like he's already asked me out or something. So let's stop now, before the two of us get any more excited about it," I told him.

"You excited at the thought of him asking you out?"

"Don't put words in my mouth and he's not going to ask me out."

"He will."

"You don't know that."

"Trust me, you didn't hear the things he was saying about you. He'll ask the minute he gets the courage to stand up to Charlie…"

"Right, when hell freezes over," I said getting up from the couch. "I know you want me as happy as you and Tyler are and I would love that, but not everyone finds that sort of thing and I've reached a point in my life where I'm okay with that," I told him. I could tell he wasn't happy about what I said, but I knew he wasn't going to argue with me about it.

I got the pillow and blanket and brought it to him. I told him goodnight and started to leave the living room.

"Bella," he called to me. I turned around to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Don't turn into an old spinster already, okay, keep your heart open. You deserve it," he told me. I smiled at him. "And don't let Sam get to you either. We both know he'll call tomorrow and apologize like always," he told me. I nodded knowing that was true.

"Night my fairy," I said calling him the name I often called him when we were alone. I used to call him my fairy gay-friend when we were teenagers.

"Night Leprechaun," he tossed back. I rolled my eyes because he called me Leprechaun to be a smart ass. Knowing I have the worst luck in the damn world, he liked telling me I must have had my pot of gold stolen.

My best friend was a dork.

"Hey, Bella!" he yelled as I was walking up the stairs.

"What, Jake?"

"Every Leprechaun needs a Shamrock!" he yelled and then started laughing as if he told the funniest joke in the world.

My best friend was a major dork.

The next morning Sam called just like Jake said he would and apologized. He said he told Emily it was more important for him to come see Alex. He said he would come, but I decided that I wouldn't tell Alex because last time Sam never showed up.

Jake was still sleeping on my couch so I made him some breakfast, got Alex ready and left the house. When we walked out the door I saw Edward sitting on his porch looking directly at me as he held a coffee cup in his hand. Not sure what to do exactly, I waved. Then he put his cup down, got up and jogged across the street.

"Hey little man," he said greeting Alex first.

"Hi, Edwood," Alex said with a smile.

"Hey Bella," Edward said pushing his hands into his pockets.

"Hey," I replied biting my lip as I looked at him. We stood there like idiots and Alex must have gotten annoyed.

"You like my mommy, Edwood?" he asked. Edward looked complete caught off guard by Alex question.

"What? Uh yeah—I mean um…"

"…she's pretty right?" Alex egged on.

"Alex?" I said in a warning tone. "Cut it out," I told him laughing nervously.

"But you are pretty, I heard Uncle Jake tell you Edwood tink you hot, but I think your warm," he continued. I swear he was never sleep when I thought he was.

"Shit…" Edward cursed under his breath.

"You owe me a dollar," Alex said holding his hand with a huge smile on his face. Edward pulled out a dollar giving it to him. "I sorry I hurt you head, Edwood," Alex told him. Edward laughed rubbing the knot on his head.

"It's okay, I know how you and your mom can make it up to me?" he said and I looked at him with a brow raised.

"How?" Alex and I asked at the same time.

"Go to the movies with me."

Was he serious?

"The movies?" I asked.

"Yeah! Can we go see Frankenweenie?" Alex asked jumping up and down. I wasn't sure what Edward's angle was here, and if I found out Jake was behind this, I was going to kick his ass up and down the east coast.

"Yeah, I mean uh—I just thought that—you know…we could get to know each other—as neighbors and maybe um…" he had word vomit. He was so damn cute.

"…Sure, Edward. Alex has been begging me to take him to see that movie so you can just meet us there. It comes out next week is next Saturday okay?" I asked putting the man out of his misery.

"Saturday's perfect," he said then he looked at Alex holding up a fist. "Have a good day at school, little man," Edward told him. Alex smiled fist bumping Edward. "I'll see you later, Bella," he said before crossing the street back to his house.

I stood there watching him.

"Mom, come on or I going to be late to be line leader," Alex said pulling on me. I nodded opening the passenger door for him to get in. Did Mr. Invisible just ask me out? And used my son to do it?

* * *

A/N

I hope you enjoyed that. Thanks for reading whether you were a new comer or rereading for pleasure! Review if your heart desires!

Love, Emotion


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